VALDOSTA, Ga. – University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Volleyball split its opening day matches at the Valdosta State Fall Tournament, sweeping Albany State before falling in five sets to the host Blazers in the nightcap.
UAFS (4-2) continues its weekend Saturday at 8 a.m. central versus Saint Leo University. The Lady Lions will conclude the weekend against Eckerd College at noon central.
UAFS 3, Albany State 0 (25-19, 25-14, 25-18)
Head Coach Jane Sargent earned her 700th career win as the Lions made quick work of Albany State to open the tournament. Sargent becomes one of more than 60 collegiate head coaches with more than 700 career wins and is the winningest coach in Arkansas college volleyball.
Right-side hitter Faith Marabella led a balanced offensive attack with eight kills, as five Lions tallied at least five kills. Marabella hit .412 on 17 attempts as UAFS hit .262 for the match. Outside hitter Abby Cagle added seven kills in her first extended action of the year.
The Lions brought their stingy defense in the second set, holding the Golden Rams to a -.051 attack percentage. Tied at 2-2, the Lions broke the set open with an 11-2 spurt, and would later add a 5-0 run to lead 20-8.
ASU took their only lead of the match early in the third set at 3-1, but UAFS answered with a 6-0 run led by two kills from Marabella. UAFS would go on to hit .448 in the set.
Setter Chloe Price handed out 29 assists, while libero Jazzlyn Wells led the Lions with 16 digs.
For the match, held ASU to a .074 attack percentage and tallied five blocks, while not allowing the Golden Rams to record a single block. UAFS also had seven aces in the win.
Valdosta State 3, UAFS 2 (18-25, 12-25, 25-23, 25-22, 15-12)
UAFS saw a 2-0 lead disappear as Valdosta State rallied for a five-set win. The Lions quickly raced out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set, but Valdosta responded with a 4-0 rally to tie it at 5-5.
Trailing 10-9, UAFS tallied three kills in a row for a 12-10 advantage, but was unable to score the rest of the way as the Blazers scored the final five points of the match.
The Lions were dominant in the first two sets, hitting .500 in set one and .429 in set two. They held VSU to a -.028 attack percentage in set two.
UAFS held a 6-1 lead in set three as they looked poised for a sweep, but the Blazers would go on an 11-1 run to take a 12-7 lead. Later in the set, UAFS returned with a 8-1 burst to take a 20-19 lead, but Valdosta answered right back with four consecutive points to keep the match alive.
The Lions once again had a chance to put the match away in the fourth set, leading 14-12. However, the Blazers reeled off a 7-2 run to take the lead. UAFS rallied to tie it at 21, but a UAFS error and VSU ace tied the match.
Marabella posted a career-high 15 kills, while outside hitter Reagan Macha added 12 kills. Middle blocker Hannah Holland had 11 kills on a .474 attack percentage.
Price dished out 43 assists and added four kills and 10 digs for a double-double. She was one of five players to record double digit digs.
Defensive specialist Lexy Lewis tallied a team-high 18 digs, while Wells had 15, setter Coryn Chaffin had 14 and Macha 12 digs, respectively.
UAFS tallied 10 blocks at the net, with five from Holland and four from middle blocker Chyra Thompson.
The Lions outhit the Blazers .227 to .149 for the match.
